In recent years, there has developed a noticeable upward trend in the number of people who are devoting a significant amount of their time to recreational pursuits of one type or another. One of these recreational pursuits is that of motorcycling. The extent of interest which exists in motorcycling is clearly shown by the rapid increasing number of registrations of this type of motor vehicle. There are a variety of ways in which motorcycles are being used. Namely, some people employ motorcycles merely as a recreational vehicle. Others are interested in participating in the various racing events for motorcycles which are held in large numbers particularly during the summer months in different portions of the country. In addition, many organizations which are involved in public safety such as police departments, etc. have purchased motorcycles for their own use as a means of assisting them to meet their assigned responsibilities. Finally, recently when the gasoline shortage became pronounced throughout this country, many people turned to motorcycles as an alternate mode of transportation to get to and from work, etc. because of the fact that motorcycles are noted for their economical fuel performance.
Concomitant with the rise in interest paid to motorcycles, there has been some attention given to making changes in the nature of the construction of the motorcycles. This has led to a proliferation of different types of motorcycles as well as to the many different models of each type which are presently being marketed. As a result, the potential purchaser of a motorcycle has practically an unlimited selection to choose from. In addition to the so-called original equipment manufacturers who manufacture and sell motorcycles as complete units, there also exists a number of other manufacturers who specialize in the manufacture only of different ones of the major components which are embodied in a motorcycle. The latter manufacturers offer their products to potential purchasers as components which can be substituted in the motorcycle for original equipment components provided therein. As a result of the availability of the latter type of products, a motorcycle operator by purchasing such equipment and embodying it in his motorcycle is capable often of changing almost completely the entire character of his motorcycle.
Notwithstanding the fact that some changes have been made in the construction of motorcycles here to date, by and large these changes have been in the nature of matters of appearance rather than in matters of structure. More specifically, apart from notable advances which have been made in recent years in the construction of motorcycle seats, little has changed heretofore in the basic design of motorcycles from a structural standpoint.
However, because of the continuing high price of gasoline and because internal combustion engines are known to produce exhaust products that are deleterious to the environment, there has been some interest exhibited in providing a motorcycle which would be powered by some means other than an internal combustion engine. In this regard, one such alternative power source for the conventional gasoline powered motorcycle is a motorcycle powered by electricity. To this end, there has now been produced and is presently being commercially marketed an electrically powered motorcycle. The latter is powered by an electric motor which in turn is connected in electrical circuit relation with a multiplicity of rechargeable storage batteries.
In providing an electrically powered motorcycle, there are a number of design considerations which must be borne in mind. For instance, consideration must be given to providing means operable for purposes of effecting control over the operation of the aforementioned electric motor. In this connection, a need exists to be able to adjust the speed of the motorcycle. Also, there is a need to be able to adjust the rate of acceleration and deceleration thereof as well as to enable the motorcycle to cruise at any speed within the motorcycle's capability. Most importantly however, it is desirable that means be provided which are operable to effect an interruption in the electrical power circuit in the event that the normal operating controls of the electrically powered motorcycle fail or fuse.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved disconnect means operable to effect an interruption in an electrical power circuit.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a disconnect means which is particularly suited to be utilized in connection with an electrically powered motor vehicle for purposes of effecting an emergency disconnect of the electrical power circuit thereof when the normal operating controls of the vehicle have short-circuited, welded, burned out, etc.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a disconnect means which is characterized in the fact that the disconnect means has no electrical dependency and therefore remains operative when all electrical power has failed or short-circuited in the electrically powered motor vehicle.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a disconnect means which is further characterized in that the disconnect means can only be reset manually thereby obviating any possibility that an accidental resetting of the disconnect means could take place.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a disconnect means which embodies means operable for providing a visual indication of the operating state of the disconnect means.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide such a disconnect means which is of simple construction, easy to employ, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and readily adaptable for employment in all forms of electrically powered motor vehicles.